J-327
by Traskold
Summary: AU. A single shot can change everything. So when Obi-Wan Kenobi becomes enamoured with one of Queen Amidala's handmaidens, history takes a dramatic turn of events. Obi-Wan/Padmé


** J-327**

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**Chapter 1**

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The silver command ship cut through hyperspace like a knife through soft Neonan red cheese. The engines whirred quietly, the occasional whistle and bleep from the remaining R2 unit as it tinkered with the hyperdrive. Obi-Wan took one look at the readings that it was giving off and groaned.

"You don't think you could go back out onto the hull and fix this now?" he asked the little astromech.

They had set off from Tatooine over a day ago, and were still travelling. Qui-Gon had figured that it might not be just the generator that had taken a hit, so Obi-Wan had checked and double checked everything that he hadn't repaired whilst they were grounded on Tatooine. He found that the hyperdrive motivator was running below expected capacity, meaning that they were going at a very primitive speed.

"Whoo-wheep wop gwhoon," R2 replied indignantly. _'Not on your life.'_

"Thought not."

Obi-Wan decided that he should tell Qui-Gon before he turned in for the night, so he heaved himself to his feet and patted R2 on his domed head before sliding the engine room door open. He wandered down a short corridor, and pausing to get his bearings, went into the rearward hold, where the ship's supply of astro droids had been kept until recently.

Qui-Gon was not there, but one of the younger handmaids was rearranging the blankets over a sleeping Anakin.

"Eh-hem," Obi-Wan coughed dramatically, scaring the handmaiden.

"Shush!" she hissed ferociously, disdainful of his presence.

"Sorry," Obi-Wan whispered. "But have you seen Master Qui-Gon? He said he needed the motivator readouts for tonight."

"He said that he was meditating, and didn't want to be disturbed," she replied. "Anyway, anything to do with the ship should go to Captain Olié, or Captain Panaka. You Jedi may think you have a right to run the galaxy, but you shouldn't be taking control of the Naboo."

He ignored the jibe about Jedi and continued.

"We're not trying to take over anywhere. We just thought that when we stop on Coruscant, we could take a proper look at it with the technodroids on hand. We caused you all of this trouble, we can at least repair the Queen's ship."

"No thanks," she said spitefully. "Coruscant and the Jedi are the reason we had to flee. But it's not you who started it - don't be so vain."

"Shouldn't it be the Queen who makes that decision?" he asked.

"Maybe," the handmaid muttered gravely.

She sat down at the little table, brought out a small hip flask and began to swig right out of it.

"Naboo," Obi-Wan said ponderously. "Not had a registered Force-sensitive in over 300 years, and not a single Jedi in twice that. Right?"

She didn't answer.

"Aren't you a little young for that," he added, gesticulating to the flask.

"As if you're any older than me," she snorted. "But then again, you 'oh-so-pure' Jedi stay away from the drink completely, don't you?"

"Not necessarily," he replied, as he pulled up a seat. "The whole debate at the moment is whether the High Council should revise a few of the rule on materialism... Actually, a lot of the rules..."

"Like?" she asked, sardonically.

"Having a proper life," he said. "A real life, with a real home, and a real family. That's what the breakaway factions are lobbying for."

"That's mad," she said. "The whole point of being above us mere citizens, is that you're so mystic and celibate. Never loving, never losing, never learning."

"Maybe."

"But to have to feel no emotion at all..." she went on, "It must be hard."

"Pardon?" Obi-Wan said, completely caught wrong-footed by her change in tack.

"To never feel any attachment," she said. She sounded more interested, more caring. "It must be hard, isn't it?"

"Well, it's not about **not** feeling emotion, it's about ignoring it," he corrected. "But yes. It is hard. Harder than the physical training; tougher than the education, the politics, the negotiation; and far harder than the Force training. It's actually quite ironic. You're working with a supernatural force that varies on emotions. And we're not allowed to use our emotions."

"Isn't it about balancing it?" she asked again.

"Yes, but to balance it, you have to be contended, to be at peace."

"And Jedi aren't allowed to be contented," she finished for him.

"Yes. Instead, it is all about the Light Side of the Force. It wasn't originally: not before the Hundred-Year Darkness. Some Jedi decided to use pure emotion to control the Force, instead of balance of it."

"Uh-huh," she said. She was interested now.

"It was far more powerful than anything seen before. But as with all power, it corrupts. They turned to the Dark Side, and nearly destroyed the Jedi. Since then, we've had to focus entirely on the opposite of their teaching, that emotions give you power and should be encouraged."

"Have you ever loved anyone?" the girl asked, changing topic again.

"Me?" Obi-Wan replied. "Thrice... Once when I was 13, when I was 15, and again when I was 18."

"So that would make you what... 23?. You can't be older than that." she smirked. "Which means that you're still in my range."

"I wouldn't say so," Obi-Wan countered. "What you said about never loving and never learning; you're wrong. I learnt my lesson."

"Of course you did," she said as got up. "And to be honest..."

She crept right up to him, breathing hotly down the collar of his tunic. Obi-Wan turned red, and not just because of the heat.

"I wouldn't be interested in the slightest," Padmé Naberrie whispered, and exited the hold.

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**Author's Notes**

**- I do apologise for my frightfully bad hyperdrive knowledge; it is not very clear on Wookieepedia.**

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**Second chapter up next week. ****Please review. :) **


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